1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to cooking apparatus and to methods of constructing and utilizing same. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a thin food-supporting cooking member which may be easily placed in or removed from a conventional cooking vessel such as a skillet so that food can be cooked within the cooking vessel without directly contacting or fouling the lower inner surface of the cooking vessel, and to an efficient, expeditious cooking method involving a cooking vessel and a plurality of the thin supporting members.
2. Description of Relevant Art
There are known food supporting members which are adapted to be inserted within a cooking vessel for supporting food within the vessel during a cooking operation. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,272,222 and 2,667,117 disclose two types of strainers or colanders which may be placed within another cooking vessel for cooking the food as supported by the colanders. According to conventional practices, the disclosed colanders have legs depending from the food supporting surfaces thereof so that the food will be supported in spaced relation above the surface of the cooking vessel during the cooking operation.
Somewhat similarly U.S. Pat. No. 1,356,432 discloses a cooking utensil which is adapted to be used with a frying pan for frying foods such as eggs. The utensil includes a flat perforated member having a beaded peripheral edge which supports the perforated member in slightly spaced relation above a surface of the inner pan, and a handle extending from the edge of the perforated member for raising and lowering the perforated member. Through use of such utensil fried foods are not fully immersed in grease while cooking, and grease is easily drained away from the cooked food when the utensil is lifted out of the frying pan.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,652,768 discloses a cooking pan having a plurality of perforated plates which may be adjustably arranged in a vertically spaced relationship so that different and large amounts of food may be cooked at the same time relative to a small portion of a stove or oven.
Although all of the foregoing known devices function adequately for their intended purposes, the food cooking processes achievable therewith are relatively slow due to the elevated condition of the food above a heated surface, requiring heat to be transferred through a medium such as steam, grease, etc.
Further, food particles and residue tend to pass through the perforated surfaces of the known devices onto surfaces of cooking vessels in which they are contained. This is disadvantageous because the cooking vessels, as well as the food supporting devices, must be cleaned of the food particles and residue after a cooking operation so that they will not contaminate other food items subsequently cooked in the vessels. Such cleaning is particularly disadvantageous in relation to large, heavy cooking vessels such as cast metal skillets, frying pans, etc. because these vessels retain substantial amounts of heat after a cooking operation and must be cooled down before they can be cleaned. Moreover, if the cooking vessels are to be immediately reused in another cooking operation after they are cleaned, additional time and energy will be wasted when the cooking vessel is initially reheated to the temperature it was at before it was cooled down to be washed.
As will be understood, known cooking vessels and food supporting inserts for cooking vessels have limitations and disadvantages associated therewith, and have as a whole failed to fulfill a great need in the art for a structurally simple food supporting member which may be used together with a conventional cooking vessel for rapidly and efficiently cooking food over a heat source.